I am a junior at Southeastern University.  It’s about that time for hunting for an internship.  I recently sat in on an internship workshop.  It was great being able to ask my professors for advice on how to find an internship and how to get hooked up into the social networking world of PR.

Comments and faves by: SarahElizabethC.

We started the workshop by talking about how to get your name out there. My professor, Barbara Nixon, encouraged us to get a LinkedIn account so we can post our resumes and any other information we would want potential employers to see.  She also said that we should look for places where we would want to intern and just call the company.  Ask if they need an intern in the area of PR.

Nixon then proceeded to show us her power point on How to Rock Your Internship in 10 Easy Steps.  Check it out if you want, the pictures are awesome!

Here are the steps:

1.    Learn people’s names right away.
~Remember your employer’s name right away.  You don’t want to call them something else on accident, you’ll look ridiculous and people get annoyed when you mess up their name.

2.    Be on time.  Always.
~Leave for your internship extra early so you can get there a few minutes before work starts.  It looks great when an employee is punctual.
3.    Dress the part.
~Don’t wear jeans unless your coworkers are. You want to fit in.  It’s great to have a personality and dress super cool but save it for the streets. 😉 Look professional please.

Everybody Plays the Game by: Thomas Hawk

4.    Ask questions.
~You want to make sure you understand what your boss wants you to do.  It’s okay to ask questions.  You rather ask questions to make sure then to be out in left field and not understanding anything.

5.    Recap every meeting.

~Try to repeat back everything they want you to work on so you can make sure that you heard correctly.  You don’t want to do something completely wrong.  Let’s be frank… it would be embarrassing.

6.    Avoid personal use of social media on the job.
~Just stay off of Facebook.  You’ll live I promise.  Save social media for down time after work.

7.    Don’t complain, especially publically.
~Do not write out your frustrations on Twitter or any other networking sites.  Keep the wining to yourself.  You never know who could be hearing you complain.

8.    Save copies of ALL your work.
~Make sure to save everything that you worked on if your employer allows it.  You can keep it to build your portfolio.
9.    Keep in touch with your faculty.
~Make sure you keep in touch with your professors.  They will be more apt to giving a recommendation for you if you have kept in touch through the years.

10.    Leave an impression.  Keep in touch every now and then.
~Make sure they remember you in a good way. Build your contacts and relationships.

Now get confidant and put on your best smile. You got this!